Working with local businesses to develop America’s energy resources
Each day, Shell and its many U.S.-based contractors work to safely find, develop and produce the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas resources that help power our lives.
Working with local businesses to develop America’s energy resources
Title: From 1,000 feet to 9,000 feet of water, the evolution of a partnership
Duration: 3:30
Description:
Local New Orleans news station WWL and Shell partnered to tell the story of how Shell and Louisiana based Danos have worked together for more than 40 years to safely find, develop and produce the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas resources that help power our lives. In this video you will see Shell’s investment dollars at work benefiting one of many local businesses across the Gulf Coast.
Transcript
[Video of person working on a construction project. Sounds of machinery and welding tools being used]
Growing up in Thibadaux, Trent Thomas is well aware of the oil and gas industry’s significance to the region.
[Trent Thomas – Welder, Danos]
It’s all we know. I’ve got a couple of Guys I went to school with me right now. So, figure right now the oil field is our life.
[Video of Trent working on a construction project including welding. Natural sounds from a construction site can be heard in the background]
Trent long sought after a job with Danos Oil and Gas services and when he landed on he new it was right.
[Trent Thomas – Welder, Danos]
From the first, from the first week it was like a totally different atmosphere.
[Video of construction work and welding. Transition to video of a Shell oil and ags production hub in the Gulf of Mexico. Transition to video of the Shell Cognac oil and gas project under development. Video of Shell’s Stones project]
It’s that same kind of trusting, shared core values relationship, Shell and Danos have enjoyed since they first started working together 40 years ago, in what was then deep water at 1000 feet. Four decades later they are still together, but deep water now is more than 9,000 feet.
[Rick Tallant, Vice President Production Gulf of Mexico. Video of people working together]
It’s almost like NASA, but in reverse, we are going to the seafloor rather than the moon and we need our partners in safety ... our contractors to get us there because without them we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
[Construction sounds and video of people welding. Video of a construction project underway. Graphic showing Stones location and video of Stones. People working on Stones. ]
This deck at the Dano’s Amelia fabrication yard is for Shell’s stones facility - the world’s deepest oil and gas project, and one of 70 maintenance and construction projects shell has planned for 2018.
[Mark Danos, Owner. Video of people working]
Today we’re at the forefront and leading the industry and that’s because of a partnership with Shell where Shell is pushing and expecting that we treat people safe
[Video of Danos headquarters. Video of Danos company timeline]
At Dano’s headquarters in Gray, Louisiana, their company timeline tracks their history, the price of oil in blue…but the numbers most important are the yellow circles and a figure that represents recordable incidents of injury…a line…that despite the fluctuating price of oil and the number of people in the field… is on the decline.
[Mark Danos, Owner]
It’s amazing to see the injury rate has declined to where goal zero is what we shoot for that’s what shell shoots for that’s what we shoot for and we’re approaching it, we’re not there yet, not perfect for we’re approaching it
[Lucy Ferguson, Construction and Maintenance Manager for Shell’s Gulf of Mexico business[
. Video of construction crew]
We have a large crew working offshore around the clock to keep facilities safe and in good condition. We partner with Danos all the way in terms of finding the best people, training them
[Video of WWL presenter Mike Hoss and Danos employee Andy Ho. Pictures of Pain crew working.]
You don’t have to ask Danos coatings expert Andy Ho, about safety. He and his team will sometimes hang 100 feet above the water to scrape, sandblast and coat an asset. He does so knowing Shell and Danos have taken every safety precaution to get him home to his family
[Andy Ho, Painter with Danos]
It means a lot…it means you are not putting your life at risk. It’s more like a family not partner in safety anymore, but it’s more like we work together
[Music playing and images from damage caused by Hurricane Harvey to Houston]
And family is the common denominator. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston…Danos sent 50 employees to get Shell back up and running and hundreds more to get its employees back in their homes… this bond is a lot stronger than even the 40 year partnership would suggest.
[Mark Danos, Owner]
A relationship is important, it’s some that we continue, we hope to continue to foster for another 40 years and we’re excited about the opportunity to work and support shell
[Rick Tallant, Vice President of Shell’s Gulf of Mexico operations. Images and video of SHell and Danos teams working together. ]
So it is a family no matter which jersey you wear , to say that they are wearing they’re part of the family offshore, they’re part of our extended family, they live with us, eat with us and have good times with them.
[Lucy Ferguson, Construction and Maintenance Manager for Shell’s Gulf of Mexico business[
they’re all about good people, good practices good business”
[Image of Shell Logo]
This story is the result of a collaborative effort between Shell and New Orleans-based news station WWL. Shell and WWL partnered to explore how Shell’s 40 years of operating in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico benefits Louisiana and Gulf Coast businesses and communities.
Each day, more than 1,400 Shell employees work to find, develop and produce the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas resources that help power our lives.
Lucy Ferguson is part of that number. She is responsible for the many projects Shell does each year to keep its platforms safely and profitably running.
“Our deepwater production hubs have a lot of moving parts - heliports, drilling rig, living quarters, power generation and oil and gas processing,” said Lucy. “All this is floating in thousands of feet of water hundreds of miles offshore where everything is exposed to wind and salt water.”
This year, Shell is planning more than 70 construction and maintenance projects on its offshore platforms – projects that include paint campaigns, new equipment installation and replacing piping.
To get this all this done safely, Shell works with local Louisiana businesses that grew up with the oil and gas industry.
According to Lucy, “our local contractors are a vital part of our Gulf of Mexico operations. Many of them have been working with us since Shell took its first steps into deepwater. They are a part of our family.”
Danos is one such company. Based in Lafayette, Louisiana, Danos has worked with Shell offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for 47years.
“In the 1970’s Shell contracted with us for project support on its first deepwater platform sitting in about 1,000 feet of water,” said Eric Danos, Owner and Human Resources Executive. “Today, we are working with Shell on their latest deepwater project called Stones in more than 9,000 feet of water.”
Recently, Shell awarded Danos with a contract to build and install new equipment for Stones. They are also under contract for electrical and mechanical support for the project.
“What this contract means is that hundreds of local Danos employees will be able to keep working and provide for their families – either offshore at Stones or at our fabrication yard,” said Eric.
People like Trent Thomas, who grew up in Thibadoux, Louisiana, and now works as a welder for Danos.
Trent is part of a team of 20 working at the Danos fabrication yard in Amelia, Louisiana, to build what is called a “pancake” deck for Shell’s Stones project. The pancake deck is 74 feet long, 40 feet wide and 15 feet tall. It weighs about 112 tons and will be used to house new oil and gas processing equipment on Turritella – the Floating, Production and Storage Vessel used to produce hydrocarbons from the Stones field.
Shell currently operates eight production hubs in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Each year, the company invests $3 billion dollars to keep each of those assets safely running and bring online new barrels of oil.
Some of that money is used for paint campaigns, which is an important part of how Shell ensures the safety of its offshore platforms.
For example, Shell contracted with Danos last year to do paint work at its Olympus platform. The project involved 36 Danos employees working on the platform. The team painted the equivalent of 30 houses using nearly 1,500 gallons of paint that protects the facility from rust and corrosion.
Shell and Danos worked together on the front-end to make sure everything was in place to make the job safe. In the end, the paint crew finished the project safely, ahead of schedule, and under budget
“We are fortunate to have companies like Shell working here in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Eric Danos. “They care about the communities where they work and care about working with local businesses. Danos wouldn’t be the company it is today without Shell.
Proving just how Strong the Shell and Danos relationship is, hundreds of Danos employees went to Houston to help the city and Shell recover after Hurricane Harvey.
“40 years, ago Shell proved that a company could safely operate in more than 1,000 feet of water,” said Lucy. “Companies like Danos who have been with us each step of the way and share our commitment to keeping people and the environment safe is what will make the next 40 years of energy development in the Gulf of Mexico possible”.
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